[top photo: A Filipino couple kisses after renewing their vows at the Roman Catholic Wedding Church in Kfar Kana on April 25, 2009.]
by Patrick Moser
MOUNT ARBEL, Israel - American Linda Halel strains under the weight of her backpack but says she has gained spiritual strength walking in the footsteps of Jesus, Bible in hand and a smile on her face.
"This has taken my faith to a new level," she says as she recounts the past few days she spent walking from village to village along the rugged landscape of Israel's Galilee region where Jesus did much of his preaching.
"I know I am walking where Himself and the apostles walked," she says as she looks down from the dramatic clifftop of Mount Arbel to the Sea of Galilee on whose waters Christ is said to have walked.
Halel, 43, is hiking the new Jesus Trail, a 65-kilometre (41-mile) route from Jesus' boyhood town of Nazareth to the Mount of Beatitudes where he is believed to have delivered his seminal Sermon on the Mount.
Hikers climb a hill in the Lower Galilee near the city of Tiberias on April 25, 2009.
David Landis, a 26-year web designer from Philadelphia, hopes Pope Benedict XVI's May 14 visit to Nazareth will help promote the route he developed with Israeli Maoz Inon, a fellow trekking enthusiast about one year ago.
The two used satellite maps to find a way to walk from one religious site to another along existing footpaths and dirt roads.
Together with the Israeli Society for the Protection of Nature, they have put markers along the trail, and hikers can download the GPS coordinates from their website (www.jesustrail.com.)
Landis sees the three- to four-day journey as an opportunity for Christians to feel connected to their faith and the life of Jesus, but insists it is not designed just for the faithful.
In fact, he says, many non-Christians have done the hike just to enjoy the walk and see the historical sites along the route.
A tourist takes pictures on Mount Precipice, where according to biblical tradition Jesus was confronted by an angry mob, on the outskirts of the Galilee city of Nazareth in northern Israel.
Jesus spent a lot of time walking
For Landis, who lives in Nazareth, the trail is not just about hiking in the footsteps of Jesus, but also about walking as he did, connecting with people along the way.
"Jesus spent a lot of time walking and meeting people. We hope people on the trail will do the same," says Landis, a soft-spoken Mennonite who has hiked hundreds of kilometres in dozens of countries around the world.
The first day of the trek takes hikers to the Arab town of Cana, the supposed site at which Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast, and a popular spot for Christian couples to renew their vows.
On a recent Saturday, middle-aged Filipino couples stood before a priest at the Cana Roman Catholic Wedding Church again pledging their undying love, and later holding up a certificate for the cameras of their fellow pilgrims.
"That alone was worth our trip," Citas Magbopoy says, beaming after she renewed her vows. "It's always been my dream to visit the places where Jesus lived, where it all started."
On the street outside, a group of hymn-singing faithful march in procession past posters welcoming the pope to the Holy Land and souvenir stores that sell bottles of Cana Wedding Wine.
Another highlight of the trek is the hill known as the Horns of Hittin, the site of an 1187 battle when the Muslim armies under Saladin defeated the Crusaders, opening their way for the reconquest of Jerusalem.
From the top, hikers get their first views of the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake along whose shores Jesus is said to have performed several miracles, including multiplying a few fishes and loaves of bread into enough to feed a multitude.
In early spring, before the rainless days that turn the earth brown, fields teem with daisies, yellow wildflowers, bright red poppies and multihued butterflies.
"Jesus spent a lot of time walking. He noticed the birds, the flowers, the scenery, as we can see from his parables," says Landis, pointing to the peaceful landscape.
A general view shows the Church of the Annunciation (C) believed to stand at the site of Mary's house, where angel Gabriel appeared and announced that she would give birth to Jesus Christ, in the Galilee city of Nazareth in northern Israel.
I've received blessings along the way
Below the Horns of Hittin, nestled between the hills, the large mosque-like Nebi Shueib compound houses the traditional tomb of Jethro, father-in-law of Moses.
The site is one of the holiest for the Druze, a secretive religion based on Islam and other beliefs.
Nearby, a minaret is all that is left from the Palestinian village of Kfar Hattin, whose residents fled during the Arab-Israeli war that immediately followed the creation of the Jewish state in 1948.
Further along, hikers can visit a Jewish religious kibbutz.
The trail also goes through Tzippori, an ancient Greco-Roman city famous for its exquisite mosaics, and the ruins of Capernaum, where Christians believe Jesus raised a young woman from the dead.
"It's 65 kilometres of amazing diversity, spectacular views," says Landis.
Halel, who quit her job as a landscaper in Michigan, says she has no words to describe the spiritual boost she is getting from walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
"I wanted to see things from the angle he saw them," says Halel, whose T-shirt proclaims: "Born to worship."
Franciscan monks lead a procession for Christian pilgrims at the first station of the Via Dolorosa, believed to be the path that Jesus walked as he bore his cross to the site of his crucifixtion, in Jerusalem.
"I have met Muslims, Jews, Christians and non-believers, I've received hospitality and blessings along the way," she says.
Organisers hope local communities will also benefit from the trail.
In Cana, for example two local Arab families have opened small hostels to accommodate the hikers.
Farah Bellan, 36, says he has had 10 guests just in the first week after he opened. The visitors, Israelis and Americans, were lovely people, he says. But they are also "crazy" to walk such a distance.
Bellan says he wouldn't even walk from his home next door to the Wedding Church to his N.Y. Pizza restaurant, 200 metres (yards) away.
